National collecting trends: Collection analysis methods and findings

The primary focus of collection evaluation and assessment has been the subjective judgment of the strengths and weaknesses of library collections. The process has generally been a local application, often utilizing peer group comparative data Quantitative collection analysis to support the subjective processes of collection evaluation and assessment is now almost universally conducted through extraction of data from local systems or network databases. National collecting patterns can be studied through the use of data extracted from the bibliographic utilities. This article examines the use of data from the OCLC/AMIGOS Collection Analysis CD and standard statistical series as a methodology for studying national collecting patterns. Findings on national collecting patterns from 1986-1995 in academic libraries in the United States utilizing the methodology are presented.